Tucker Carlson: Trump's unifying the country after getting shot shows he is 'the leader of a nation'

Tucker Carlson, host of The Tucker Carlson Show, said at the Republican National Convention on Thursday that GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump showed that he is "the leader of a nation" by uniting the country after being shot last weekend.

Carlson mentioned the shooting at Trump's campaign rally in Butler, Pa., on Saturday, where the former president's right ear was grazed by a bullet, one rally attendee was killed and two others were injured.

The political commentator noted that the effect the shooting "had on Donald Trump, [was that] he was no longer just a political party's nominee or a former president or a future president. This was the leader of a nation."

Carlson said he "reached out to Trump" hours after the shooting, and Trump didn't say "a single word about himself. He said only how amazed he was and how proud he was of the crowd, which didn't run.

"The first thing I thought was, 'Well, of course, they didn't run,'" Carlson continued. "His courage gave them heart. A leader's courage gives courage to his people."

He noted that Trump "turned down the most obvious opportunity in politics to inflame the nation after being shot, to inflame the nation, which is an opportunity that almost every other politician I've ever met, and certainly his opponents, would have taken instantly."

"He did his best to bring the country together," Carlson said. "And I thought, 'This is the divisive figure? This is the irresponsible person? No, this is the most responsible, unifying behavior of a leader I think I've ever seen.'"

The former Fox News anchor added, "I do think the entire point -- from the famous escalator ride nine years ago until today -- of Donald Trump's public life has been to remind us of one fact, which is a leader's duty is to his people, to his country, and to no other. That's the point. That's the only point. And another word for this is democracy."

Carlson also mentioned how, when Antifa attacked his house the day after the 2018 midterm elections while his wife was home, Trump called his wife the next day and said, "I'm going to stand guard outside your house."

Trump also said, "A lot of hate out there," before noting, "but there's a lot of love. There's a lot of love."